Microsoft unveiled a new, Java-like software programming language intended to simplify the building of Web services using its software.

Microsoft executives said the new language, an easier-to-use version of the popular C++ language, is intended to drastically simplify and speed up software development as well as promote the company's Microsoft.Net initiative. The new language, expected to be called C# and pronounced "C sharp," is a hybrid of C and C++, two of the most popular programming languages used by software developers to write applications for the Windows operating system, said Tony Goodhew, a Microsoft product manager. While sources say C# will include several features apparently modeled on some of the most popular features of the Java programming language, Microsoft executives say the language is not a Java competitor. "This is not a response to Java," Goodhew said. But people familiar with the company's plans said that while C# is "not presented (by Microsoft) as a Java competitor, if you look at the pieces (of C#), it kind of mirrors (Java)." "C# is Java by another name," said Steve Mills, general manager of IBM's software division. "Microsoft has its own unique programming model with Visual Basic. But it's not designed to be a scaleable, multi-user system like Java, and C# is the alternative to Java." Java, a technology developed by Sun Microsystems, is promoted by Sun, IBM, Oracle and others as the language programmers can use to write software once and have it run across all types of computing systems, regardless of the operating system. Java is considered a threat to Microsoft: While Microsoft has in the past steered developers to write software that runs only on the Windows operating system, Java allows developers to write code that can run on many operating systems and hardware.